My mother is my mom and mentor, always has been. She’s with family in Virginia for several weeks enjoying so many reasons to celebrate: her granddaughter receiving her MD, another granddaughter is receiving her BA, and then she is anticipating still another graduation for another granddaughter in nursing in December. She retired as a university professor not that long ago, so if someone in the family is earning a degree, you can definitely find her at the respective graduation. She’s not near for Mother’s Day, but we all know exactly where she is, attending the latest graduation. We all know that she just won’t miss an important event, wanting to be there to celebrate whatever it is…be it educational or otherwise.

Another very special graduation.

She has always been a driving force in our education at any level, make no mistake.

When I was about 12 I had a class project for English due on the long short story “The Man Without a Country.” I penciled something on notebook paper about a page long. Not too much thought went into it, and the presentation was lacking. I showed it to my mother who reviewed all homework in our house. She was ironing in the kitchen and I had worked for a very brief time at the peninsula on the assignment. When she saw it, she said “You can do better than this.” She was right. She reminded me of a better piece I had written once before.

So I rewrote it, this time on typing paper, fountain pen not pencil and upon seeing the iron just a few feet away from my spot at the peninsula, she had the idea of “aging” it with the heat from the iron. With her help we even lit a match and “aged” it further singeing the edges of the paper.

Unlike Philip Nolan in the story by Edward Everett Hale who was a man without a country, I learned that afternoon I was a girl with a mother.

Today in May, 2015 at my age, I feel extremely blessed to still have her usually a drive, just an e-mail, phone call or text away. We all love you, Mom, very much. Thank you for always being there for us.